Wyoming Senate Votes To Consider Pot-Edibles Bill

A bill in the Wyoming Legislature that will try yet again to define what amount of pot-infused edible or drinkable products would be enough to charge someone with felony possession of marijuana has cleared the first hurdle in the Wyoming Senate.

Senators voted 24-6 to consider Senate File 23 on Tuesday. Because the 2018 legislative session is a budget session, non-budget items such as the pot-edibles bill, need at least a 2/3 majority vote to be considered.

The pot edibles bill cleared that threshold with four votes to spare. The bill is being sponsored by the legislature's Joint Judiciary Committee.

Sen. Leland Christenson [R-Teton County] told senators the bill would set a felony amount of drinkable pot products at 36 fluid ounces, while felony penalties for concentrated resin marijuana products would kick in at three grams, which is similar to the felony laws on drugs such as meth in Wyoming.

For regular edible marijuana products, the amount needed to charge someone in Wyoming with felony possession would be three ounces, which is the same as for plant marijuana in Wyoming.

The issue of what amount of pot edibles is needed for a felony charge under Wyoming law has been a thorny one since Colorado legalized recreational pot use a few years ago.

A number of felony charges have been thrown out of Wyoming courts because of the lack of clarity in state law on the issue.